In most places, having the right map can mean getting to the right destination on time. In China, it could mean avoiding a large fine or even jail time. Starting next year, the government will enforce new laws governing the production and distribution of maps for both print and online. Maps with content “that endangers […]

Australia is leading “Freedom of Navigation” flights over the disputed South China Sea, the BBC has learned. BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield-Hayes was on board a civilian flight from the Philippines as he investigated China’s artificial-island building in the region, when he intercepted radio communications revealing the Australian military was conducting freedom of navigation flights. Wingfield-Hayes […]

Much can be speculated about the historic Nov. 7 meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou , which marked the first time leaders from both nations publically met since 1945 following the end of the Chinese Civil War that left the ruling Communist Party victorious. One interpretation: China is telling Taiwan […]

China’s vast fire power and more than 2 million active-duty personnel now have their sights set on the Islamic State, as Beijing officially declares war on the terror group. “China will strengthen cooperation with the international community, resolutely crack down on violent terrorist operations that devastate innocent lives, and safeguard world peace and security,” said […]

As China continues dealing with a growing presence on the world stage and a rapidly changing society, its leaders are looking to an uncommon source for answers: the teachings of Confucius. For decades, the ruling Chinese Communist Party has neglected the philosopher’s beliefs along with its institutional aspects. During the cultural revolution of 1966 to […]

The Philippines earned a huge victory Thursday in its case against China’s claims to parts of the South China Sea, after an arbitration court in the Netherlands with jurisdiction on the matter agreed to hold hearings. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague issued the ruling after the Philippines had filed the suit against […]

For the first time since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, the leaders of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan will gather for a formal meeting. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou will meet Saturday at Singapore and will address each other as “Mister” rather than their honorific titles, then […]

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said Thursday that the country will take “all necessary measures” in response to future U.S Navy incursions into what it calls its territorial waters in the disputed South China Sea. Col. Yang Yujun’s announcement came two days after the U.S. Navy’s USS Lassen’s sailed within the 12-nauticile-mile territorial limit of […]

The Chinese Communist Party has written a code of ethics to ban immoral behavior and eliminate political factions that stray from the central government’s positions, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency. The code lists 8 moral and ethical principles that the party’s more than 60 million members are expected to follow. It bans “forming […]